23 Safety on Rural Placements

Please review the information and advice regarding your personal safety to and from, and on your placement on the Your personal safety on placement page.

Do you need to travel more than 50km and stay away from home for your placement?  You shouldn’t travel for your placement until your travel is authorised. If your placement is visible to you in InPlace, it means that travel for this placement has been approved by UQ.  If your travel has been approved, you should do the following before you depart:

1. Read the UQ travel procedure. Pay careful attention to Section 4.1. Students and ensure you understand what your responsibilities are.
2. Update your emergency contact details in mySi-net and InPlace.
3. Ensure your personal mobile number is up to date on InPlace in international format e.g., +61 412 345 678.
4. Familiarise yourself with UQ travel insurance information for students (PDF, 307KB)
5. Complete and submit the Traveller Declaration for Domestic Travel
6. Register your profile and your trip with International SOS (even for domestic travel).
7. Install and register with the Sonder Safety app (PDF, 1.28MB) – free 24/7 health and safety support from anywhere in Australia. This app is similar to International SOS but also includes other safety and wellness features including ‘Track my journey’ and ‘Check on me’.

REMEMBER: It’s in your best interests and also your responsibility to minimise your risk when undertaking UQ authorised travel.  Registering with International SOS and Sonder will help you do that.

Are you driving to a placement outside Brisbane?

Driving in rural Australia is challenging and brings with it additional risks. Review the Queensland Government regional driving webpage for recommended precautions if you are driving on country roads for your placement. Remember that some remote locations have limited mobile phone coverage. You should check this prior to commencing your journey and ensure you notify people of your travel plans.